Pinterest is still new enough for me to think not everything has been said, but “old” enough for it to make sense for marketers to take a look at it for their own brands. In Sweden it hasn’t really hit home yet, but in US most brands you would expect have already adopted Pinterest as a new channel.
Hubspot is a though leader in all things online marketing and I decided to write an “exective summary” of their Pinterest guide to help myself and hopefully you. Please note that the facts are from Hubspot, but that the wording and thoughts are my own, and therefor nothing Hubspot can be held accountable for.
The basics
The goals of Pinterest use is brand recognition, driving traffic , new leads
If you brand is design related it’s possibly even more important that you check it out.
Register your Pinterest account with the same email address you use for your Twitter account, to easily share your pints through Twitter too.
Choose your username and complete your profile information. Company name and logo is good to use, and don’t forget a link to your website.
Make sure not to hide your Pinterest profile from search engines. There is a choice to do so in the Settings, and it’s automatically set to off.
If you use a “Pin it” button on your pages, it’s easy for visitors to share your content. However, these are no-follow links, so they won’t affect your SEO. But will probably affect your website visits.
Since you will be curating content, make sure you’re citing the source of the pins. The picture will link back to the site you found it on and/or the pinner you pinned it from, so that should be easy enough 🙂
Create a few boards before you start to build your following, otherwise ppl won’t know why they should follow you or your board.
Cross-promote your pins through your website, blog, Facebook and Twitter etc But, as always, don’t overdo it
Create boards based on keywords in your SEO strategy, and make them GOOD! Basically this helps you position your brand as a thoughtleader in the field.
Remember
Don’t forget to measure impact with your analytics tool!
What pictures/topics/boards send more traffic than others?
Try to become the go-to pinner for a certain topic relating to your industry (remember those keywords)
Whenever possible, inclued links back to your website and LP’s in your pins. The combined impact from clicks and re-pins will give you some good traffic.
Use hashtags – preferably the same ones you use on Twitter (and Instagram)
Board ideas
Employees, with short bio
Executives ,with short bio, media mentions, interviews, etc
Images from your blogposts (around a specific subject)
Infographics (your own or those you find interesting)
Book covers (that you’ve written, around a subject dear to you etc)
Photos of smiling customers using your products
User generated board (host a contest)
Create a video gallery (yes, it’s possible!)
Behind the scenes (helps make your brand relatable and humanized – therefore interesting)
Lessons learned from other brands
It’s all about what you share, not necessarily what you sell
Think outside the box of how you typically use social media to market your brand
Follow Pinterest’s lifestyle credo & make your brand page personal for your fans
Even if your company isn’t exactly devoted to “pretty things”, it doesn’t mean you can’t be on Pinterest
I want it all
Download the Hubspot e-book for more juicy info on Pinterest for Business
and follow Hubspot on Twitter while you’re at it!
Dolly - Marketing words 